Battaglione Bersaglieri Voluntari

History

The battalion was formed as a result of a decree from the Viceroy on
30th August 1813 and was to be raised from hunters, foresters and
others skilled in the use of rifles. Men were encouraged to join the
colours with a bounty of 100 lire and the promise of transfer to the
Guard Cacciatore regiment after a year's service. Nonetheless
recruitment was slow, even when the opportunity to join was extended to
convicts and deserters. Potential recruits preferred to wait and see
how events would favour the Kingdom of Italy. Furthermore, they were
concerned that captured members of a "volunteer" regiment would be
sentenced to hard labour or even execution. For these reasons the
battalion (forming in Brescia) numbered only 142 men by 13th December
1813 - and 60 of these deserted a month later on the approach of the
Austrian Army!

It is not clear whether this battalion was ever engaged in the
field. One would not expect them to have fought very well if they
did.

Organisation

In theory, the battalion was organised into four companies of 130
men. As noted above, this strength was never attained.

Uniform

The battalion wore a "tyrolean" uniform based on that worn by
Austrian Jäger regiments:

Headgear

A black corsican hat, with the brim tured up on the left side
and decorated with a green lace V, a national cockade and a green,
lenticular (carrot-shaped) pom-pom. The hat was secured with a black chin
strap.

Coat

The coat was dark green and similar to the 1812 "Spencer" coat
in cut - being closed to the waist and secured with brass buttons.
The collar and cuff-flaps were mid-green as was the piping around
the lapels, turnbacks and distinctive clover-shaped shoulder
straps.

Trousers

The overall trousers worn by the battalion were grey with a
broad mid-green stripe down their outer seam. Gaiters (worn nder
the trousers) were also grey.

Equipment

It was originally intended to equip this regiment with rifles,
but in the end they received the dragoon pattern musket. Many men
would have carried their own hunting rifles. Straps and belts were
black leather and the cartridge box was worn on the belly as opposed
to the back.

For help, please send mail to the webmaster (webmaster@napitalia.org.uk), giving this error message
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I am also indebted to Marcello Marconi of Verona for information he
provided about this unit.

The picture of a Bersaglieri soldier was drawn by Peter Schuchardt.
You can see (and buy) many more of his excellent illustrations at his website -
Compagnie d'Elite.

Note

There seems to be no connection between this unit and the elite
Italian Bersaglieri corps, founded a generation later and which still
serve today. An introduction (in english) to the latter formations can
be found at these sites: